Located in the far north end of the Vegas Valley is Aliante Golf Club, which is almost an onsite golf course at the disposal of those lodging at the Aliante Casino, as it’s positioned just across the street. The hotel-casino recently changed hands with Boyd Gaming acquiring it, so folks are expecting some wonderful changes to the resort, which should make for nice accomodations at the end of your golf game if you prefer to stay away from the hustle-and-bustle of the Strip. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a ride, the club offers transportation specials to and from your hotel room.

Designed by Gary Panks and Associates, Aliante Golf Club contains trees not typically found in the desert, including Pear and Purple Locust trees, making this course unique among other Vegas desert courses. With four tee options at each hole, golfers of all skill levels will enjoy this great facility.

Although there are some beautiful views of the Sheep Range Mountains on a few of the holes, that mountain range is not the most picturesque of the valley, so you won’t be distracted from your golf game by glorious vistas. The course winds through the Aliante housing development with plenty of wide fairways. The homes are quite modest so, unlike many Vegas courses, your round will not be filled with the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of viewing spectacular homes, as is the case at other golfing venues here in the Valley. But you’ll certainly enjoy a straight-ahead round of golf, on a friendly course at which you can score well.

For a club that is encircled by homes on almost every hole, Aliante has pretty good length, (7022 yards from the Eagle tees, 6657 from the Falcon tees, 6117 from the Hawk and 5340 yards from the women’s Dove tees). Even from the middle Falcon tees, the course presents a challenging test of your game because of the rolling fairways and undulating greens. There are no trick holes or sharp doglegs right or left, so you’re free to enjoy your straight tee shots and approaches from verdant fairways that are cut tight. Though it’s not what I’d call a plush course, it is well-manicured, professionally staffed, and the play moves briskly, so you’re not faced with a five-hour round.

The first hole is a modestly distanced par four that gives you a chance to loosen up before attacking the long par four second hole (472 yards) and the par five third hole. A short par four is tucked between two challenging par threes before you once again face another long (448 yards) par four. The front nine closes with a “scoreable” par five and par four, and at that point you should have put up a pretty good score.

From the Eagle tees, I found the back nine to be a bit more difficult than the front, primarily because four of the five par fours on the back are over 400 yards long, so reaching the greens in regulation on them is harder than on the front nine. In addition, the par three 13th is a 233 yard hole that is well-bunkered to the left, three-tiered, and simply a solid, tough hole. So at Aliante, the ease and fun of playing straight-ahead holes is countered by their length and difficulty.

Overall, your day at Aliante will be a pleasurable experience, whether it’s as a rest from your gambling and partying as a visitor, or if you’re a Vegas golfer, playing as many of our interesting courses as you can. The fees are not cheap, rather in the moderate range for Vegas courses; but definitely worth the price of admission.